ClueBy
TodayArchiveWord list

Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 120 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

Make a worksheet

Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

Words on the sheet
468
Word bank
YesNo
↻ New worksheet

Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: leaves · hand · mine · season · can · coach · drill · wound

  1. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  2. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  3. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  4. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  5. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  6. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  7. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  8. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  9. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  10. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  11. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  12. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  13. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  14. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  15. Have you met the new head ________________?
  16. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  17. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  18. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  19. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  20. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  21. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  22. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  23. Did you ________________ the meat?
  24. ________________ you help me carry this box?

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. coach — pulled by horses
  3. hand — part of the body
  4. hand — in cards
  5. drill — a practice
  6. leaves — of a tree
  7. season — of the year
  8. wound — past of 'wind'
  9. season — in sport
  10. drill — army training
  11. mine — for digging
  12. wound — an injury
  13. mine — an explosive
  14. leaves — to go away
  15. coach — a trainer
  16. drill — the tool
  17. can — a tin
  18. hand — help
  19. leaves — lets stay
  20. coach — a trainer
  21. mine — belonging to me
  22. can — a tin
  23. season — to add flavour
  24. can — to be able to

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com